Consequences
by the unknown spirit
Summary: No matter what decision you make or action you take, there will always be consequences. An alternate take on the end of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc with a similar but all together different story branching out from there. Eventual NaruHina just so you know.
1. Chapter 1

**Well look at this yet another story, I've just been having a lot of ideas lately. Anyway let's give this one a try. I figured I'd give my own little spin on the whole end of the Sasuke retrieval arc.**

* * *

"_Rain, of all things why rain?!"_ Kakashi thought to himself as he jumped through the trees with Pakkun slightly ahead of him. "Pakkun, do you still have their scent?"

Pakkun replied "It's fading fast but I've still got it. We're closing in on them."

With those words, Kakashi and Pakkun doubled their speed. "_Don't either of you die on me, Naruto, Sasuke …..please." _

They continued jumping through the trees for what seemed like days before hearing a bloodcurdling scream echo across the forest. It was a combination of sadness, horror and anger and it made both Kakashi and Pakkun stop in their tracks and shutter. The scream raged on for about a minute before disappearing. This left Kakashi in an extremely worried state. Not because of what it sounded like but because the scream was from the voice of Naruto Uzumaki.

"Kakashi?" Pakkun asked visibly worried about his master.

"We need to get there NOW!" Kakashi stated before dashing off toward the Valley as fast as he possibly could.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kakashi finally arrived at the Valley of the End, and what he saw horrified him.

The Valley looked like it had been the battlefield of a Shinobi War . The whole valley had been beaten, and brutalized. Craters and debris littered the landscape and the feet of the statues of Madara and Hashirama had been reduced to nothing more than rubble. At the center of it all laid the body of a young boy. The body itself was in disastrous condition. Bones were broken and out of place, clothes were torn to bits and the skin was almost completely charred from heat. To many people who once knew him, the body would appear unrecognizable, that is accept for one key aspect. The eyes of the Sharingan. There were only three living people who had access to such eyes. One was a wanted criminal, one was the Leaf Village's Copy Ninja, and the other was Sasuke Uchiha. This was the body of the latter.

Pakkun with some reluctance went over to sniff the body. A moment later he nodded his head to Kakashi, looking visibly saddened.

Kakashi slowly walked over to the body to try and get confirmation that it wasn't his student but it didn't help. Even with all the injuries the body sustained, Kakashi still recognized it as Sasuke, the eyes being a dead giveaway. Without saying a word, he kneeled down and closed his pupils' eyes for the last time. He was quiet for a moment before speaking again.

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked with great difficulty taking his eyes off Sasuke to look around for his other pupil praying he wasn't also dead.

"Kakashi, the rain washed away Naruto's scent. I can't smell him. He's gone."

Kakashi hearing this immediately took out a storage scroll and sealed Sasuke's body into it.

"Kakashi I wish I could do more but with this rain I won't be able to find him." Pakkun stated sadly.

"It's okay Pakkun." Kakashi stated drearily as he put the scroll back in his pack. "I'll find him."

Pakkun immediately dispelled himself and Kakashi charged into the surrounding forest.

"_Naruto….. Where are you?"_

* * *

A few miles away from the Valley, the figure a young boy about thirteen years old was limping through the forest alone. While the body of Sasuke was in far worse condition, the figure wasn't much better off. His clothes had been ripped apart revealing multiple cuts and scratches across his body, and his right arm looked completely mangled. He was also breathing extremely hard courtesy of a Black Chidori that fried his lungs. This figure was Naruto Uzumaki, Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village, Jinchuriki of the Kyubi…. and he had just killed his best friend.

"_I killed him. I killed him. I killed him."_ These were the thoughts that were running through Naruto's mind as he limped on nonstop.

"I didn't mean to." Naruto thought to himself trying to find a solace of comfort.

"**Yes you did."** A voice in his head replied. **"You know damn well that you meant to kill him."**

"Shut up."

"**Why should I when I am simply stating the truth. You meant to kill him with my power. That's why you asked for it."**

"Shut Up! I just wanted to bring him back to the Village. I didn't want to….."

"**Ah, but you DID! I live in your mind child! I know your thoughts better than you do. You can deny it all you want, but the fact still remains, you wanted him dead. And now he is."**

Naruto didn't reply to this and just tried to ignore the Kyubi.

"**You can ignore me until the end of your days child, but you know that you will never be forgiven for what you've done. That pink haired friend of yours will be out for your blood. Your sensei will hate you for killing his favorite student. The Village will expel you from the Ninja program and exile you if they don't kill you. Either way, your time is over. "** The Kyubi finished smiling and enjoying every syllable of what he just said.

Naruto stopped limping and just stood still for a moment not saying a word before coming to a conclusion.

"_You're right."_

"**Of course I am child I am never wrong."** The Kyubi stated simply.

"_The Village will hate me, Sakura will hate me, Kakashi will hate me, everyone will."_

"**Yes child. Everyone will."**

"_And if they won't exile me they will probably kill me if I return.'_

"**Correct mortal, you will most surely die if you go back."**

"_That settles it then… I'm going back."_

"**WHAT?! Did you just not here yourself?"**_ The Kyubi yelled surprised and outraged._

"_I know that I will never be forgiven for what I've done. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life on the run. I will go back and face consequences for what I've done. And as an added bonus if they do kill me, you die too." Naruto replied with a smile._

"**NO! I will not allow you to just go back and di….Child we are being watched."**

Naruto hearing this initially thought it was one of the ninjas from his group but immediately put up his guard when he turned and saw something rising out of the ground. Said THING was a half black half white humanoid incased in what looked to be some sort of fly trap. Oddly enough none of these anomalies was what worried Naruto the most. No the robe of Red clouds was what did the trick.

"See I told you we should have rushed him and knocked him out. Now this makes things a whole lot harder."The white half complained.

"**It doesn't matter. He's still too injured to put up a decent fight. It will be over soon enough."**The black half reassured his white colleague.

"What are you?" Naruto asked nervously,

**"We are Zetsu. And we have decided that you will come with us Mr. Uzumaki."** The black side replied ominously.

* * *

"Kakashi sir, Over here." A medical ninja called to the one eyed Jonin.

Kakashi hearing this went over to him. "Have you located Naruto yet?"

"Negative sir, we scoured this entire part of the forest and nothing. We found all of the other genin though. They've been taken back to the village. We also haven't spotted Sasuke either sir." The medical ninja finished

"Don't worry about Sasuke, focus all of your attention on locating Naruto." Kakashi commanded. "I'm going to check the other side of the Valley."

"Sir, before you go you should know. Three genin left the village to find Sasuke and Naruto on their own a few hours ago. We've been ordered to find them as well."

"Who were they?" Kakashi asked nervously.

"Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame, sir. The Hyuga and Aburame have already sent out search parties of their own to help.

"Damn it! Who the Hell told them about this?!"

"We don't know sir. We just got the report a few minutes ago. The theory is that they got worried about the mission taking too long and decided to go out on their own."

"All right you continue your search here. Tell the Hyuga and Aburame to search the West side of the Valley, if you don't find them within two hours, regroup back at the Village and send out the Anbu." Kakashi ordered.

"Yes sir." The medical ninja replied before dashing off.

"Damn it Sakura!" Kakashi yelled aloud.

* * *

"You're sure this is the right way?" Sakura called back to Shino.

"My bugs don't get many things wrong. Naruto is about twenty miles north of here, a few miles past the Valley of the End." Shino replied emotionlessly has they jumped through the trees.

"Okay, Hinata once we get closer, we're going to need your Byakugan to find Naruto and Sasuke." Sakura called up to Hinata who was a few feet ahead of them."

" G-got it Sakura!" Hinata called back before they all doubled their speed each having different but similar thoughts on their minds.

"_Naruto please be okay."_

"_Naruto, Sasuke please be alright."_

"_I have a bad feeling about this."_

* * *

**Tada! Done. I've read multiple versions of the end of the Sasuke Retrieval arc some of them really good, others not so much. Anyway I figured I could offer my own little version of it and have a story branch out from there. This story in terms of chapters probably won't be as long as my other ones, but that means I can update faster so pros and cons. Could you maybe possibly leave a review? Every bit of feedback helps. See you guys later.**


	2. Chapter 2

It was quiet as Sakura, Shino, and Hinata leaped through the forest. The rain had silenced all the sounds the forest usually had an abundance of. All this seemed to do for them is make them more nervous than they all ready were.

Shino looked forward towards Sakura and Hinata recounting how they exactly ended up here.

**FlashBack**

"Report"

"Yes sir, the mission was a success. The bandits were eliminated." Shino said emotionlessly.

"Excellent work Shino." Tsunade said with a hint of surprise. "I must admit I am surprised that you managed to take care of this alone."

"I am never alone Lord Hokage." Shino replied.

"That's not what I….. Never mind, Here is you payment." Tsunade said tossing several hundred ryo to the Aburame.

"Thank you. If I may, I would like to ask for a few days off. My hive was severely depleted from the mission and I need some time to repopulate it."

"Uh…. Yes of course." Tsunade replied with some nervousness.

"Thank you. Is there anything more you wish to discuss?" Shino asked.

"No. You are free to go." Tsunade confirmed.

Hearing this Shino nodded his head and walked out of the office.

"_Strange kid."_ Tsunade thought to herself as she leaned back in her chair. _"Effective, but strange. Then again he is an Aburame. I should expect this by now."_

As Shino walked through the Village, he failed to notice the strange glares he received from people. These glares were not filled with hate like the ones Naruto suffered. Rather they were glares of simple curiosity. The Aburame are among the most loyal clans in the Village but that didn't stop them of being thought of as weird among the populace. They mostly kept to themselves and didn't get involved in Village politics like the Hyuga or others which in a large and clan dominated Village is rather rare. Shino was proud of this fact and had learned to ignore the stares long ago.

He continued walking as he came to the Village's Main Gate. He would have kept going except for the fact that a Ninja that he himself fought a few weeks ago during the Chunin Exams was walking into the Village.

"Hey Bug guy mind giving me a hand?" Kankuro cried as he saw Shino. Hearing this Shino relaxed his guard a bit and went over to him. As he drew closer Shino realized that the thing Kankuro was carrying was Kiba and quickly sped up.

"What Happened?" Shino asked with a hint of worry as he reached Kankuro.

"Dog boy here was fighting a Sound Nin and losing so I came in and helped him out." Kankuro replied "There will be more guys coming. I need you to take this guy to the Hospital while I go back out and find Gaara and Temari." Kankuro said as he handed Kiba over to Shino.

As Shino picked Kiba up he realized something. "Where is Akamaru?"

Kankuro looked confused so Shino clarified. "Akamaru is Kiba's dog. Do you know where he is?"

"I gave the pup to a Medic Nin who said he was taking him to the Hospital." Kankuro replied before dashing off into the forest.

Sighing with some relief, he lifted Kiba up and raced to the hospital.

When he reached the hospital he saw to nurses running toward him and Kiba.

"Thank you for getting him here. His dog is already inside. We'll take it from here." The nurse said as Shino handed Kiba to them.

"How many does that make?" the other nurse asked.

"He's the third one. That leaves four more that aren't here yet. This one doesn't look as bad as the others." The other nurse replied. "Let's get him inside." Both stared to rush .Kiba into the Hospital

"What is going on?" Shino asked hoping to get some answers.

"We don't know exactly but apparently a retrieval mission went wrong and the survivors are ending up here." A nurse turned around and said before continuing inside. Hoping to get some answers Shino followed.

The nurses took Kiba down the hall and into one of the rooms leaving Shino on his own. Wanting to know who the other two people already in the hospital were, he headed to the front desk. Once there he was surprised to see his other teammate sitting outside a door looking extremely worried.

Hinata is, depending on who you talk to, regarded as either the most polite or the most useless ninja in the Village. She is exceedingly caring and is often the first one to take care of you but isn't much of a fighter skill wise and almost never the one to lead an attack. This lack of ferocity on her part as created some strain between her and the rest of her family in the Main Branch of the Hyuga. Her father and to an extent her sister view her as a disappointment and the Clan Elders view her as unworthy of being the Clan head. The Branch families however see her as a remarkable young woman who can someday remove the Seal that binds them to servitude. The strain caused by the pressure of this situation has severely depleted her confidence levels by the time Shino had first met her.

Initially he and Kiba had tried helping her build up her confidence levels but the Aburame aren't exactly motivational people and Kiba while encouraging tends to go a bit too far so little progression was made. However since the Chunin Exams she has started to gain some confidence in herself in no small part from one Naruto Uzumaki. Shino had never understood why Naruto had the ability to inspire random people but he knew for Hinata it was more than simply inspiration. Now Hinata was becoming a fine Kunochi who one day would become the Clan Head of the Hyuga. At least according to Shino.

"Hinata. What are you doing here?"

Hinata let out a little gasp of surprise when Shino made himself known. "S-Shino, I didn't notice you there. I'm uh just waiting outside to c-check on Neji."

"Neji? Did he just recently come into the hospital?" Shino asked.

"Y-Yes. My father wanted me to check up on him. He came in about an hour ago so I s-stoped by to s-see him but. He and Chouji a-are s-severely injured and in surgery." Hinata said sadly.

"I just got Kiba here. He's not in surgery." He quickly added after seeing Hinata's worried face.

"Oh thank goodness." Hinata said relieved.

"Hinata do you know what's going on? Why are our teammates coming back to the Hospital severely injured." Shino asked his teammate hoping for some better answers.

"I don't k-know exactly. Some nurses s-said that some s-sort of mission w-went wrong. But why would they send out Neji, C-Chouji, and Kiba when they aren't a team?"

"That's what I'm wondering. The nurses I talked to said it was a retrieval mission but why would a simple retrieval mission get them injured this bad? Something is wrong here. We need to know who else was on this mission. Do you know if anybody we know is still in the Village?" Shino asked Hinata.

"I um think Ino is out with her f-father today, and I think Tenten is on a s-separate mission with G-Guy sensei. I also think Sakura is still here in the Village.'

"Which leaves Lee, Shikamaru, Sasuke, and Naruto and there are four people haven't come back from the mission." Shino finished leaving Hinata to put two and two together. "I'm going to see if I can find Sakura and see if she knows where Naruto and Sasuke are." Shino stated before heading to the exit.

"I-I'm going with you." Hinata replied getting up. "I n-need to make sure N-Naruto is safe.

"Won't your father get mad if you don't stay with Neji?" Shino asked.

"He…He d-doesn't really care about where I g-go." Hinata stated depressed.

Shino silently berated himself for asking that question before continuing. "Alright, let's go find Sakura.

Now going through and trying to find a single person in a village the size of Konoha would normally take at least an hour for an average ninja, but with a little help from Hinata's Byakugan it took only a few minutes. They found her in her teams' training field.

"Hey Hinata, Shino what are you guys doing here?" Sakura asked as she sat down gulped down some water.

"Sakura, where are Naruto and Sasuke?" Shino asked.

Sakura froze up at the question. "I…..don't know."

"That's not the answer I wanted to hear." Shino replied keeping his monotone. "We need to know where they are."

"Why? What's wrong?" Sakura asked having an ominous feeling. Hinata was the one to respond this time.

"Sakura. K-Kiba, Chouji and Neji are at the h-hospital with serious injuries. The nurses told us that a mission went w-wrong and that four people are missing."

Sakura was floored by this news. She had been there when Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Neji had left to find Sasuke.

"I-I need to make sure that N-Naruto isn't one of them. Please just tell me he's in the village somewhere." Hinata pleaded to Sakura.

Seeing the fear in Hinata's eyes Sakura was reminded of how deep her affection was for Naruto. _"She really does care for him."_

"Neither of them are in the Village." She confirmed sadly.

"So they are out on this retrieval mission. Do you know what it was for.?" Shino asked

"I have orders from the Hokage and from Kakashi sensei not to tell anybody about the mission." Sakura replied.

Shino and Hinata's hope quickly faded after this statement.

"However, that was before I knew my friends were in the hospital." Sakura continued.

"So you'll tell us." Hinata asked for confirmation.

"Yes. Naruto was with Neji, Chouji, Kiba, and Shikamaru, who were tasked with going after Sasuke who left the village." Sakura said looking down. "I…..I pleaded with Naruto to go after Sasuke. I had tried to stop him myself but I….couldn't." Sakura told them starting to form tears in her eyes.

"So Sasuke has betrayed us." Shino confirmed.

"We don't k-know that Shino he could have been t-taken or been under some sort of g-genjutsu right Sakura?" Hinata bending down to comfort Sakura.

"I…..don't know…I just don't know." Sakura replied never once looking up at them.

"Okay. Now we know who was on the mission and that three of those people are in the hospital injured which means in all likely hood this retrieval mission has failed and that whoever else hasn't come back yet may very well be dead." Shino said emotionlessly.

Sakura and Hinata became extremely depressed by this logic and neither of them spoke for a few minutes.

"Well t-there is only one w-way to be s-sure." Hinata said as she got up. "We need to g-go out and f-find them."

Sakura looked astonished by this, and Shino for his part raised his eyebrows. " Us?" Sakura asked for confirmation.

"Y-Yes. " Hinata replied.

"Hinata. You do realize that if we just take off and go looking for them without the Hokage's permission, the Village will either punish us or remove us from the ninja program." Shino stated to Hinata making the consequences clear. "Not to mention what our families will do to us."

"I….I k-know the risks that I'll face for this, b-but….I don't want to just st-stand around and do no-nothing while N-Naruto is out there h-hurt." Hinata said boldly. _"I've done that for far too long." _She added in her mind.

"Will you two h-help me?" Hinata asked Shino and Sakura. Shino was the first to reply.

"Of course. You are my team mate and they are my friends." Shino said simply.

Hinata turned toward Sakura who was silent before saying. "I failed to stop Sasuke and because of that three of my friends are in the hospital and two more are out there injured or dead, I should have went with them to begin with. I'm definitely going." Sakura stated getting up off the ground.

"Th-Thank you." Hinata said.

"Let's get to the front gate." Shino commanded and they dashed off towards the gate.

When they got toward the gate they quickly hid behind a building when they saw Shikamaru and Lee being assisted by the Sand Siblings entering the Leaf Village.

"Okay that just leaves Naruto and Sasuke out there." Shino confirmed as the Siblings passed by heading toward the hospital.

"Let's go." Sakura said and with that they dashed through the gate and into the forest.

**End of Flashback**

"Hey Shino." Sakura yelled back to the Aburame bringing him back to reality. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course Sakura we are friends after all." Shino replied while leaping through the air.

"That's just it. I didn't think you and I were friends. I know we are team mates and fellow ninjas but…I never really thought of you as a friend. To me you always seemed like the creepy guy who likes to be by himself. You just always seemed to be standing alone in a corner away from other people." Sakura replied ashamed. "I realize now that I was completely wrong. I just wanted to say thank you for coming with us and I'm sorr…."

"There is no need to apologize." Shino interrupted. "It's not strange for you to think that. I've never been as public with my feelings as people like Naruto and Lee are. It's a trait that the Aburame have had for generations. You are right. I do tend to stay by myself. I don't fraternize with other people as much and I am usually the one who sits alone. This leads a lot of people to believe that I don't care about people and that I don't think of any of you as friends. This is simply not true."

Sakura listened intently while keeping up the pace and not slipping on a wet branch.

"I believe and care for each and every one of my comrades as a friend and I will gladly lay my life down for them. No matter whom they are even though I may not openly express it as much as others do. " Shino continued. " Don't feel ashamed for not noticing it. Hinata and Kiba thought the same thing you did when they were first put on a team with me. But overtime they came to trust me as much as I trust them. I hope that after we find Naruto and Sasuke you will view me as someone who can be trusted and a friend." Shino finished all in his monotone voice.

" I think I see Naruto!" Hinata suddenly cried snapping both Sakura and Shino back to what they were doing. "His chakra is very weak and something else is with him…but I can't make out what it is."

"Is Sasuke with him?" Sakura asked in a hopeful tone.

"I-I don't see him. Sorry Sakura." Hinata called back leaving Sakura disappointed but still eager to get to Naruto.

As they all doubled their speed, Shino immediately felt a dark presence in front of them. His insects began to fester inside him as if something truly menacing was awaiting them. They had never done this before and Shino didn't like it.

"Stop." He commanded to Sakura and Hinata as the landed on a wet branch.

"Why? We need to keep going." Sakura told Shino.

"Whatever is with Naruto, it is not natural." Shino told them with a hint of worry. "My insects don't like what it is they are sensing and I don't like us just charging in and facing it.

"Y-You have a plan then Shino?" Hinata asked her team mate.

"I have one in mind. We can't take this thing in a full fight. My insects confirm that. Here's what we're going to do." Shino said as the others leaned in to hear it.

* * *

"Wow. This is surprisingly easy."

"**See I told you he wouldn't put up much of a fight."** The Black side agreed.

"Shut up **(pant)** you **(pant)** bastards!" Naruto wheezed out as he was kneeling on the ground. _"Damn it. What's with this guy? I must have thrown at least one hundred clones at him and he's not even winded."_ Naruto thought to himself worried.

"Are you ready to give up yet because if not we may have to start actually putting some effort into getting you." The white half spoke to Naruto.

Naruto hearing this created twenty more clones and sent them to attack.

"**Stop trying to talk to him. He's too stubborn to listen to reason."** The black half told his other half before creating a hand sign.

**Swamp Style: Spike Vine Jutsu!**

Dozens of spiked vines suddenly emerged from the ground and impaled the clones. Dispelling them immediately and going after Naruto.

"Damn it!" Naruto cried as he jumped away from the vines only to have more vines erupt from the ground and knock him back into a tree before wrapping themselves around him trapping him and cutting against his body causing blood to pour out and him to scream out in agony.

"Careful now we don't want to scratch him up to much or he'll lose too much blood." White Zetsu cautioned his counterpart.

"**He'll be fine he's got an increased healing factor anyway. We'll wait until he passes out from the blood loss and then take him to the leader."** Black Zetsu replied.

"**Child use my chakra now! You will fall into their hands otherwise."** The Kyubi commanded Naruto,

"_No...No….I can still…." _Naruto's consciousness began to fade and he couldn't finish his thoughts. As he slipped deeper and deeper into unconsciousness he was reminded of what he did to Sasuke. _"I'm…..sorry."_ was his last thought before darkness took him.

Realizing Naruto was unconscious Zetsu released him and sent the vines back underground.

"And that takes care of that. Let's get him and go ho- Ughhhhhh!" White Zetsu exclaimed as a swarm of insects overtook him.

"Hinata now!" Shino ordered from the trees. Hearing the signal Hinata jumped down and dashed toward Naruto.

Once she had Naruto, Hinata called out "Sakura!"

Sakura immediately jumped down from the trees and dashed straight toward…..Zetsu.

"**Get these damn bugs off of me!"** Black Zetsu cried as the bugs kept flying around him blocking his and White Zetsu's vision.

"Shannaro!" Sakura exclaimed as her raised fist collided with Zetsu's face launching him back several meters crashing into trees.

"Let's get out of here NOW!" Sakura exclaimed before racing back the way she came followed swiftly by the others and an unconscious Naruto.

Zetsu lied down against the fallen tree as Shino's bugs that had been absorbing their chakra slowly fell of its body dead.

"Well that was unexpected. At least we weren't assigned to catch Naruto though so we can't get blamed for not getting him." White Zetsu said relieved sinking into the ground.

"**Shut up. Wrap your head around the fact that we just got punched and snacked on by a girl and some bugs from an Aburame child and try to feel optimistic. They'll pay for that."** His black counter said ominously as they disappeared into the soil.

It was evening and the rain had stopped before Kakashi met with the Anbu captain in the forest.

"Did you find them? Kakashi asked tired.

"Negative Kakashi, We are still waiting on a team to report back so there is still ti…"

"Sir!" An anbu cried as he landed next to Kakashi. We found them. They are a few miles north coming our way."

"Is Naruto with them?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes sir." The Anbu confirmed.

Kakashi immediately dashed north towards the Genin.

* * *

"I must say Sakura that was impressive. Where did you get that strength from?" Shino asked curious.

"I uh sort of reversed engineered it something Naruto told me. He said he had seen Lord Tsunade break entire walls with her punches so I wondered how she did that. I figured that the only way you could do that was to push a huge amount of chakra into your hands. So that's what I did. The only down side is that I don't have a large amount of chakra so I can only do one punch." Sakura said through heavy breaths. "Kind of sad isn't it?"

"Far from it. It's actually rather genius that you were able to figure it out just from someone describing it."Shino replied as he landed on a branch. "Hinata. How is he doing?"

"H-He is okay just u-unconscious." Hinata said carrying Naruto piggy back style with a rather large blush on her face.

That scene alone would make just about anyone laugh except the fact that Sakura was still depressed about not finding Sasuke and Shino was….well Shino.

"I hope you don't blame Naruto for not catching Sasuke, Sakura. You know Naruto will hate himself enough." Shino stated to Sakura.

"Don't worry Shino. Why on earth would I blame Naruto? I'm the one who begged him to go after Sasuke." Sakura replied with a depressed look on her face. "I have no intention of blaming anyone. We'll find Sasuke later."

Shino nodded in acceptance and the three continued on toward the Leaf Village.

"We should reach the Village by night fall. If we are lucky we might be able to slip back in the village without being noticed." Shino stated to the others.

"Oh really?" A familiar voice spoke. The three genin looked over to Kakashi with squad of Anbu next to him.

"_Well so much for that idea."_ Shino thought to himself.

* * *

**For future reference. I will be changing Zetsu's backstory just a bit. Not that I dislike the one he has in canon. I just think it could have been better. But that's just me. Could you maybe possibly leave a review? Every bit of feedback helps. See you guys later.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Some sort of plant creature?"

"I know it sounds strange but that's what nearly killed Naruto. The body of the assailant looked like it was covered in a…fly trap." Shino managed to say with some disgust.

"Did it see you?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes sir. We grabbed Naruto and left before it could come after us though it could still be nearby." Shino said with some worry present in his voice.

Kakashi nodded his head before turning to the Anbu Captain. "Take your squad and search for anything matching the description Shino described. Approach with extreme caution. Authorized to kill."

"Yes sir." The captain replied before he and his squad disappeared into the forest.

Night had descended upon the forest and with it the regular sounds. From crickets to croaking frogs to owls the entire forest had come back to life after being silenced by the rain earlier that day.

Kakashi then turned to Hinata who was handing Naruto over to a medical ninja who just arrived.

"We'll get him straight to the hospital. Don't worry Lady Hyuga." The medic reassured her before taking Naruto and toward the Hospital.

Hinata looked out toward the direction the Medic went before focusing back on Shino. Shino simply nodded his head in response making Hinata smile.

Seeing as how the other two were alright Kakashi focused on his own student. Sakura was a few feet away from the others looking out toward the forest. With a great deal of nervousness Kakashi walked up to her.

"Oh hey Kakashi sensei." Sakura said hearing him walk up. "I know I said it about a hundred times while we were getting out of the forest but I'm still so….."

"When were you going to tell me you were gaining super strength?" Kakashi asked interrupting her.

"How did you…?"

"Shino told me. He said he was rather impressed." Kakashi continued.

"I….. I was saving it as a surprise for when Naruto got back with Sasuke. I was going to punch Sasuke in the face for leaving." Sakura managed to say with a sad smile.

Kakashi just looked down in response.

"Do you think the Anbu will find him Sensei?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi was silent before replying "I think Sasuke is too far gone for anyone to find him now including the Anbu." Kakashi said never once looking up at her.

Sakura looked deeply saddened by this. "Oh. I see."

"How do you think you parents are going to feel about you leaving the Village?" Kakashi asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh I think they'll probably hug me then kill me right after." Sakura said with a smile glad to change the subject.

They had exited the forest a few minutes ago and now were just outside the Village. The only things blocking their paths however were some worried/angry family members.

"SAKURA!" two figure yelled out before charging straight at Sakura leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

"Thank heavens. Are you alright? Are you hungry? Why did you leave? Why didn't you let us know?" Kizashi asked as he checked over his daughter for any signs of cuts or injuries.

"Sakura. You are in so much trouble. " Mebuki told her while hugging her child tightly. "Don't you ever do that again."

Sakura on her part hugged both of her parents tightly before going with them back to their house.

Shino looked over and saw his father close to the gate. Shino walked over to it. "Father, I apologize for not informing you but….."

"Shino. We'll discuss this back at the compound tomorrow. You are looking far too tired to stand here and explain yourself to me. Let's get home."

"Thank you father." Shino replied gratefully.

As Shibi inspected his son, he sensed very little insects with him"I sense you have a very small amount of Kikiachu. Didn't you just get back from you mission today?" Shibi asked his son.

"Yes sir. The bandits I had fought used a gas jutsu that killed about half of my insects and the ones I used today for one reason or another they never came back to me." Shino said with a hint of exhaustion coming through his voice."

Shibi nodded to his son. "I see. Let's get home then." Shino simply nodded his head in agreement and walked and began walking back with his father to the Aburame Compound. While walking away Shino noticed Hinata dealing with some elders.

Now Shino was known for being able to keep a cool head a great majority of the time. All Aburame were. Ever since their younger years, all Aburame were taught to control their emotions and be able to hide them. However, seeing Hinata being verbally abused by her Clan Elders was one of the few things that were able to anger him. This Elder couldn't even wait for her to get to the Compound before abusing her. He had to do it just outside the Village in front of him Kakashi, Sakura's parents, and the returning Aburame and Hyuga search parties.

"You have been a great disappointment most of your life But now… Now you have gone beyond just disappointment. You have willingly gone out of you way to embarrass us haven't you?" One of the Elders told her.

Hinata just simply held her head down in silence as a response.

"You are truly a disgrace to the Clan Hinata. If it were up to me you would be taken back to the Hyuga Compound and given the Caged Bird Seal immediately but you are luckily Hiashi's daughter so I can't. However don't think you are safe. You will be severely punished for this." The elder promised coldly before turning and heading back toward the Compound. Hinata just slowly followed never making a sound or looking up.

"You are angry." Shibi told his son. "You keep it contained well."

"Father with respect, should we not have assisted her? She is a team mate and a friend and the Aburame protect their friends." Shino asked to his father while clenching his fist in a rare showing of emotion.

Shibi was silent before replying."You are not wrong Shino. We should assist our friends and protect them. However there are certain steps you need to make sure you don't cross when you leader a clan. If I, the Head of the Aburame clan were to provoke a Hyuga Clan Elder on an internal matter such as the one involving Lady Hinata, he would then bring it before Hiashi who would then be obligated to bring it before the Village Council and Hokage which would cause problems for the entire Village and specifically our two clans. I am sorry for the Hyuga girl but I can do nothing to help her at the moment without risking a confrontation between our two clans." Shibi told his son.

Shino nodded his head still angry but understanding before following his father to their own compound eager to get some rest.

Eventually Kakashi was the only one left outside the Village. He pulled out a scroll and just looked at it for a while. Before long, tears began to form in his visible eye which he quickly wiped away before putting the scroll back in his bag and walking into the Village to speak with the Hokage.

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes, he was greeted with the sight of bright hospital lights which temporarily blinded him. After his eyes adjusted he noticed that there was someone sitting next to him. Said person looked around Naruto's age with a Chunin vest on and pineapple like hair. Recognizing the person Naruto smiled.

"So you actually had enough energy not to sit around and die. Got to say I'm impressed Shikamaru."

The young Chunin hearing that his friend was awake turned to speak to him. "So you're still alive. I thought you had moved on to the place where ramen is the only thing to eat." Shikamaru replied with a smile of his own.

"Now that you mention that it makes me wish I didn't wake up." Naruto replied.

"You are a real pain in the ass. You know that?" Shikamaru told him.

"Yeah which makes you just a lazy one."Both he and Shikamaru chuckled at this.

"It's good that you are alright Naruto." Shikamaru told him with a hint of sadness. Picking up on this Naruto immediately worried.

"The others are fine aren't they? I mean they could handle some sound ninja right?" Naruto asked him praying that they didn't die.

"Naruto. Chouji and Neji are in emergency surgery. Last time I talked to the doctors they told me it could go either way." Shikamaru replied not trying to hide his sadness.

"What? But…What about Kiba?" Naruto asked fearing the worst.

"He has some serious injuries but nothing life threatening. He and Akamaru are hurt but nowhere near as bad as Chouji and Neji."

"Okay….Lee! What about Lee? He had to face that bone guy. He could still be."

"He's fine Naruto." A new voice said.

Shikamaru and Naruto turned to see Gaara materialize into the room. "He has only minor injuries."

"Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara here all appeared just in the nick of time. It's because of them that Kiba, Lee and I are still alive if injured." Shikamaru told Naruto before showing him a cast around his right index finger. "I was the least hurt out everyone."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief before turning to Gaara. "Thanks Gaara. For helping them I mean."

Gaara not used to being thanked stood quiet for a moment before responding. "You are welcome Naruto."

Naruto smiled at his fellow Jinchuriki before asking something to both him and Shikamaru. "How did you guys find me then? I was pretty far off from the rest of the squad and I had gotten knocked out by some sort of plant thing."

"Plant thing?" Shikamaru asked to get clarification.

"Yeah this plant looking thing somehow came out of the ground and attacked me. I made some shadow clones but I was low on Chakra, so the thing easily beat me. How did you guys beat it? Did Gaara use his sand to crush it or something?" Naruto asked curious.

"I didn't see any plant creature Naruto, I also didn't find you." Gaara told him

"Neither did I even though I tried." Shikamaru stated killing Naruto's theory.

Now Naruto was confused. "Okay if you guys didn't find me and beat up the plant thing. Who did?"

Both Shikamaru and Gaara looked at each other before Shikamaru explained who exactly went out and rescued him.

* * *

That morning Tsunade called Sakura, Hinata, and Shino to her office. When Sakura arrived she found Hinata standing outside looking extremely downtrodden.

"Hey Hinata what's wrong?" Sakura asked worried about her friend.

Seeing that there was someone else there Hinata quickly wiped away the tears and focused on Sakura

"Oh h-hi Sakura, I was j-just…..w-waiting for Tsunade to c-call us in." Hinata said turning to her fellow kunoichi

Figuring Hinata didn't want to talk about what was bothering her Sakura moved on. "Where's Shino? He's usually one of the first people to arrive at meetings like this."

"Some of the A-Aburame told me he couldn't c-come today. He needed to have his h-hive replenished." Hinata replied.

Sakura nodded her head in response. Both of them stood quietly for a few minutes before speaking again.

"Hey Hinata. How long exactly have you liked Naruto?" Sakura asked eager to start a conversation.

Hearing the question Hinata immediately turned crimson. "I-I d-d-don't know w-w-what…h-how d-did you…."

"Come on Hinata, Practically everyone we know knows you like him. Ino and I even have a bet on whether Naruto will realize it or not before he turns sixty". Sakura told her with a smile.

Hearing this Hinata turned even more red now rivaling a tomato which caused Sakura to laugh. _"Everyone knows….." _

"I'm not making fun of you Hinata." Sakura told her after she was done laughing. "I just wanted to know how long you've liked him for."

Sighing before turning back to normal color Hinata told her. "I-I guess it started out in the a-academy. I was never a top student there like you or…..' Hinata stopped herself from saying Sasuke before continuing." It was a h-hard time for me. My m-mother had recently passed away and I…I thought about l-leaving the ninja program." Hinata mentioned sadly.

Sakura looked shocked at this statement but let Hinata continue. "I was p-planning on telling my father and the r-rest of the clan when one day a group of kids a-attacked me. That's when he s-saved me." Hinata told her with a smile. "I had always seen him on his own away from other people. I was told by the clan to a-avoid him and I did and yet he saved me." Hinata said with admiration in her voice.

" I started to follow him after that. I saw how he was constantly looked down upon as a failure but he never gave up." I -a-admired Naruto for not giving when he failed at things. H-He gave me h-hope that I-I could get through the academy and b-become a successful ninja." Hinata told her while maintain a small blush. "I guess from then on out I…" Hinata didn't finish the statement and started pressing her fingers together

Sakura hearing this story just sat amazed. "Wow… That settles it then."

"Settles w-wha…."

"Tsunade will see you two now." The receptionist told them before Hinata could ask her question.

As the two moved toward the office, Kakashi walked out looking absolutely miserable. Seeing his student, he walked up to her. "Sakura, meet me and Naruto at our training field later this evening, there are….some things we need to discuss." He finished before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Confused Sakura turned to Tsunade who didn't look much better than Kakashi. "Lady Tsunade are you okay?"

"No Sakura, no I am not. I was up half of the night making sure Chouji would survive and it's still not a guarantee he will. Shizune is still up trying to heal Neji, Kiba is seriously injured, we've lost a ninja, and three of my soldiers decided it was a good idea not to inform me before leaving the Village to go after Naruto. No Sakura I'm not okay. I'm actually a horrible combination of tired and pissed off." Tsunade practically yelled at them. "And where the hell is Shino?!"

" Lady Tsunade, Shino c-couldn't come, he's…"

"With his clan. I know, I know." Tsunade said remembering the Aburame giving her the message. "So it's just us then, fine by me. I'll start with you." Tsunade said as she turned toward Sakura. "I gave you specific instructions not to tell anyone about the mission I sent those five on. So mind explaining to me why you disobeyed my orders and told two people?"

Sakura was quiet before responding. "I know I went against your orders Lady Tsunade and I apologize for that but…. Naruto and Sasuke are my teammates and it was my fault Sasuke left the village and I pleaded with Naruto to go after him. The whole thing was my fault. When I heard from Shino and Hinata that Chouji and the others were in the hospital, I became immediately worried about them, about Naruto so I told them what I knew." Sakura finished with a sizable amount of guilt in her voice.

Hearing this Tsunade sighed. "Damn it Sakura. You can't go and tell people secrets just because you feel guilty about something. I thought a young woman as smart as you would understand that." Tsunade told her with a disappointment evident in her voice. "Every ninja will at some point in their life be told not to do something even though they want to. While it may seem unfair, it is for the good of the Village."

Hearing this Sakura held her head down in shame. "And you." Tsunade said turning toward HInata.

"You are the one who has caused me the biggest headache. Having Sakura and Shino go off alone was one thing. But you, the heir to the Hyuga Clan, for you this is an entirely different matter. Do you realize how much danger you've put yourself into? Some of the Elders have told me they want you removed from the ninja program. While that is out of their jurisdiction, and I told them such, they are going to keep harassing me to do something drastic. Do you know what happens to you if I do that?!"

Hinata was silent for a moment before responding. "Yes. I know what will happen L-Lady Tsunade. You won't be a-able to p-protect me anymore from getting the Cage Bird Seal."

"Then why did you go if you knew what could happen?" Tsunade asked

"Because N-Naruto needed help. I-I couldn't leave him out there to…..d-die." Hinata spoke lifting her head up and looking Tsunade right in the eyes.

Realizing that going on like this would just waste time, Tsunade feeling like a broken record just sighed again. "Okay fine. Since you both know what you did wrong and you take responsibility for your actions. I'm not removing you from the ninja program."

Sakura and Hinata smiled at this.

"Instead, for the next few months you two will be assigned to teach the Academy students and D rank missions. Oh and you'll be having a one on one training practice with me in a few days before starting those jobs." Tsunade replied cracking her knuckles

The smiles they had quickly vanished.

* * *

After Shikamaru had told Naruto what happened, he and Gaara were left to check on the others, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

"_Shino and Hinata went out to help me? Why would they do that? They could have been killed. And Sakura… how am I going to tell her?" Naruto thought to himself._

A knock on the door brought him back to his thoughts. A moment later his sensei came in. "Kakashi Sensei!"

"Hey Naruto." Kakashi stated relieved to see his student doing well. " You're looking well."

"Sensei, are Sakura, Hinata, and Shino okay? They aren't in trouble are they?" Naruto asked hoping his friends were alright and wanting to avoid the other subject.

"I guess word has gotten out all ready." Kakashi sighed "I don't know Naruto, they are meeting with the Hokage right now."

Naruto nodded before attempting to get out of bed. "Okay I'll get over there and tell Grandma not to…" He couldn't finish as he fell to the ground not having the energy to stand.

"Naruto. One you can barely stand let alone walk to the Hokage mansion. And Two, they need to deal with this on their own." Kakashi told him as he helped Naruto back to his bed.

"But Sensei. It was my fault they went out there! If I had come back sooner they wouldn't be in trouble. And if it wasn't for them I might not even be here anymore. They don't deserve to get in trouble for helping me when it was my fault!" Naruto yelled at him.

"Naruto. We can't get involved because it was their decision to go after you. They knew what would happen if they went out looking for you. If you were to help them now that they have to deal with the consequences of that decision, they won't be as strong as they would be otherwise."

"But…"

"What if it was you Naruto? If you had gone against orders and went out searching for your friends. Would you want them to save you from the consequences of those actions?" Kakashi asked him.

Naruto just sat quietly in response.

"I know its hard Naruto, but you need to have faith in your comrades if you want to them to grow." Kakashi told him while looking out through the window at his Village.

There was silence in the room for a long time with both people knowing the subject for Kakashi's visit but nobody wanting to acknowledge it. Eventually Naruto asked one of the questions that he feared the answer to.

"Sensei, do you hate me for… killing Sasuke?"

The way Naruto asked this question was in such a way that in combined grief, worry, regret, anger, and a thousand other emotions. Hearing this Kakashi was quiet for a moment before responding.

"Naruto…..What happened to Sasuke…. I don't blame you for it." Kakashi told him with grief evident in his voice. "What happened to Sasuke was not your fault or anybody's for that matter. It was my failure as a teacher to not see what he was becoming and which makes it my fault."

"Sensei, I didn't mean to…I just…..I…. He was my best friend. " Naruto managed to speak as he began to choke on his words.

Kakashi put his hands on his student's shoulders to comfort him.

"I know how you feel Naruto. I….I killed my best friend as well a long time ago. There is no greater loss than that and the grief and guilt you feel from it can easily eat away to your very soul if you let it. You can't let it Naruto." Kakashi told him remembering how he felt when Rin died.

As Naruto regained control of his speech he asked the question that by far worried him the most. "What do you think Sakura will say when she….finds out? I….I don't know how I can tell her or if I can." Naruto said with worry evident in his voice.

"I don't know how I will either Naruto." Kakashi replied. "But she will find out eventually and I would rather it be from us than from anybody else.

"Does the Village know yet?" Naruto asked still worried.

"Only the Hokage right now, but in a few days, the rest of the Village will be informed."

"Oh." Naruto responded saddened.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked as his student immediately grew sadder.

"How do you think the Village will take it when they here that the Village Pariah killed the Last Uchiha? I was just starting to gain their trust but now…. What do you think will happen?" Naruto asked him fearing the reaction.

"I don't know Naruto. It's hard to guess what the people will think. It's best not to dwell on that now." Kakashi told him before getting up.

"I have to get going Naruto but there's someone here to keep you company." Kakashi told him before vanishing.

Naruto looked around before seeing his other teacher sitting at the window.

"Pervy Sage!" Naruto exclaimed happily.

"Hey Naruto! You're looking remarkably well!" Jiraiya told his apprentice smiling.

"What's up? I thought you were on some sort of mission out of the Village." Naruto told him wondering why he was back.

Jiraiya was quiet before replying."I had returned while you were out on your Retrieval mission. I won't ask you about the mission or what happened to Sasuke. Remember that plant creature you fought? What was he wearing?"

"Oh yeah I think its name was Zetsu or something. And it was wearing…the same thing Itachi and the Shark guy were!"

"The Akatsuki." Jiraiya confirmed concerned.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away deep in a dark cave a group of ten extremely powerful individuals were discussing what Zetsu had just told them.

"You are sure of this Zetsu?" The Leader asked.

"Absolutely. We did see the whole thing." The White half replied.

"Well what do you know? Looks like the Kyubi brat beat you to it Itachi!" Kisame chucked to his partner who remained as stoic as a statue.

"So what the point to this little meeting here Leader? I don't particularly care about an Uchiha being dead." Deidara asked.

"Now that we know that Itachi's brother is dead, we know that Orochimaru didn't get his body?"

"Exactly what does that slippery, MotherF! %$& have to do with this?" Hidan asked.

"It's quite simple. If Orochimaru didn't get his body it means that he had to find a replacement which leaves him weakend." The leader replied.

What does that matter? We don't know where he is." Kakuzu pointed out.

"Ah, but Sasori through the use of his spy network is closing in on one of his hideouts. Once we find it we are all going to pay him a visit." The leader said with a hint of excitement.

* * *

**Bet you didn't see that ending coming did you? Or maybe you did. That whole Akatsuki-Orochimaru thing will happen later unfortunately but it gives people something to look forward to. Anyway next time you get to see how the Village Council and Sakura react to the news as well as what exactly happened to Sasuke and Shino being troubled by what he saw in the Forest. Could you maybe possibly leave a review? Every bit of feedback helps. See you guys later.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys. Ready for Chapter Four? Excellent because here it is.**

* * *

Shibi quietly walked into the room where the Village council meeting would be held and took his usual seat. He was always the first to arrive at these meetings or at least the first Clan Head to arrive. He looked over to see the Anbu Commander standing against the wall in the corner as usual. He nodded his head as a form of greeting to which the Anbu did the same. He then looked over to the three civilian Councilmen who were talking to themselves about usual things. How's the family, and so on. He would never admit it publicly, but he always found these particular councilmen to be annoying. They never took their jobs seriously. They constantly asked for increases in pay under the third Hokage. And worst of all they had to be some of the most violent civilians in the Village, calling for the death of captured Sound ninja as well as the death of Naruto on multiple occasions. Shibi stopped looking at them when one of them stared right at him. This councilman was a man named was a man named Kenta whose hatred and lust violence seemed to be much higher than the other two. Acting as the sort of ringleader, the other two councilmen usually stood with him on issues. Having this man stare at you was unsettling even to a trained ninja.

Hearing more noise outside the room, Shibi turned toward the door where two voices could be heard outside.

"Hey Inoichi, How's Ino doing?"

"She's doing well. We went out and picked some rare flowers yesterday to sell at the store. It was nice. We rarely have time to spend together these days."

"Glad to hear it."

"How's Shikamaru holding up after the mission?"

Shikaku sighed before replying. "He could be doing worse. He blames himself for what happened to Chouji and the others as well as the mission being a failure. But he's a strong kid he'll pull through. Even if it takes some convincing from a Sand girl."

'A Sand girl?" Inoichi repeated confused.

"Yeah, oddly enough he got a talking to from the former KazeKage's daughter. I think her name was Temari."

"The girl he beat from the Chunin Exams? Carried a giant fan?"

"Yeah. Weird isn't it?"

"True. It's not every day you end up getting saved by someone you defeated not too long ago." Inoichi agreed.

"Hmph. You're one to talk. Didn't I save you from that twelve Stone ninja a few years back after you defeated me?" Chouza asked coming in to the Council room.

"If you can call 'saving' just rolling over a few of them." Inoichi said with a hint of amusement. "How's Chouji?"

"He made it." Chouza said with relief. "We weren't sure he would but…he made it."

"Wow. He truly is your son Chouza." Shikaku replied happy for his friend. "Only he would be able to eat all your family's pills and survive."

"Of course having the greatest healer in the world look after him helps." Inoichi added relieved as well.

"So anybody know why we are here today?"

"I think we are here to discuss what will be done now that Sasuke Uchiha has left the Village." Shikaku told them.

"So it is true." Inoichi confirmed. "I was hoping otherwise. Ino isn't going to like this."

"Well let's get it over with then."Chouza stated. "Sooner we do, the sooner we go home." And with that all three entered.

After Shikaku, Chouza, and Inoichi took their seats, Hiashi Hyuga entered and took his seat without saying a word to anybody. A few minutes later Tsume Inuzuka made her way to her seat looking bored out of her mind. A few moments after her Tsunade appeared without her advisors.

"Okay I'm sure we all have better things to do then sit around here so I'll make this quick and simple. By now you've all been told that Sasuke Uchiha has betrayed us and left the Village and is now with Orochimaru."

All the councilmen nodded. This information was made public yesterday with the arrival of the Sand Trio.

"What you may not have been aware of is that Sasuke Uchiha is in fact not with Orochimaru and is instead with us right now. She said as she took out a scroll and placed it on the table before them. She then made a hand sign and released the seal.

Everyone except the Anbu Commander, Kakashi, and Tsunade immediately gasped in horror as the horribly burned body of Sasuke Uchiha became visible.

"Two days ago Sasuke Uchiha was killed in combat. This is his body." Tsunade said with great difficulty. After everyone had seen it she quickly sealed it back up. "The body has been slightly repaired since it was retrieved. Be thankful you didn't get to see the full extent of what it looked like." Tsunade finished.

"How could this have happened? Did the Sound ninja kill him for resisting?" Kenta asked.

" No Kenta, Sasuke was not killed by the Sound Ninja." Tsunade said

"Well who killed him then?!" Inoichi asked fearing the answer.

"Yes. Who? We must find this assailant and bring him to the Village for execution." Kenta agreed.

"Before we continue, I would like to make it clear to all of you that Sasuke left the Village of his own free will. For all intensive purposes he had betrayed the Leaf Village and its people." Tsunade told the Council.

At hearing this many of the Clan heads sympathy for the Uchiha disappeared. It was one thing for a loyal ninja to die in combat but quite another for traitor to die in combat.

Tsunade took a deep breath as if preparing herself for an oncoming storm before replying."Sasuke Uchiha was killed by Naruto Uzumaki."

Once that was said all hell broke loose.

* * *

It was late evening when Naruto was able to leave the hospital. A normal person would have been in there longer but normal people don't have a powerful healing factor. Naruto also never liked hospitals so the doctors were eager to get him out to stop the complaining. He quickly dropped by the others to see how they were doing and then left. As he walked through the streets of the Village, many things were on his mind.

"_How am I going to tell Sakura? What is the Village going to do to me when they find out? Are Shino and Hinata alright? How did they beat that Plant thing?"_ All these questions and more had been plaguing Naruto since he regained consciousness that morning.

" _I guess, I could try to find Shino and Hinata to make sure they are all right before going to meet Sakura and Kakashi. I need to thank them anyway."_ Naruto eventually decided before dashing off towards the Aburame compound.

When he arrived Naruto spent a good minute just staring at the building. He had never been to the Aburame building before and seeing it now just made him more nervous. The building itself was huge seeing that it housed the entirety of the Aburame clan but the way it was shaped made the building look like a gigantic bee hive of some kind. In short the building looked rather intimidating. Pushing back his nervousness, Naruto walked up to the front door.

Before he knocked he thought he heard shouting coming from inside.

"…..Oh and if you think for a second that you've dodged a kunai because you didn't have to go see the Hokage you are INCORRECT. She and I have worked out the perfect punishment for you young man and when it's done, I guarantee you will never try something so stupid again!"

"Mother is all that really necessary?'

"Absolutely! First you don't come home after you mission which made the welcome back dinner I made for you completely useless. Then you leave the village AGAIN to go out into a dangerous forest full of Sound Ninja without telling me, the Hokage, or anyone. And while I am out there looking for you worried to death you came back and your father tells me. 'He looks tired Suzume. Let's let him rest for tonight' . After all that, you are lucky I don't ask for you to be removed from the ninja program! Now why do you have so many…"

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

Not wanting to keep eavesdropping, Naruto knocked on the door to make himself known. _"That was Shino's voice but who was the woman?"_

Before long an Aburame came to the door. "Can I help you Mr. Uzumaki?" He said devoid of emotion.

"I uh I wanted to just drop by and see Shino." Naruto managed to say with his nervousness returning.

"One moment." The Aburame replied before closing the door and leaving. A few minutes passed before he returned. "You may come inside." He stated opening the door and letting Naruto walk in.

Shino and his family are just up those stairs." The guard said point to a staircase down the hall. "Just be warned, Shino doesn't have much energy today so If you would be…..not so hyper, Lady Suzume would greatly appreciate it." He told Naruto before disappearing in a swarm of bugs Leaving Naruto alone.

Naruto made his way down the hall and up the stairs albeit nervously. The hallway was empty and completely silent and the staircase squeaked under his feet which only served to frighten him even more.

"_Disappearing guards, Empty creepy hallways, squeaky staircases, I swear if I see a ghost I'm out of here."_ Naruto thought to himself.

When he came up the stairs to another hallway, he found a door with light coming out from under it. Figuring it was Shino's room he knocked. Shino didn't come to the door.

"Greetings, Mr. Uzumaki. I am Shino's mother Suzume." Suzume stated without any emotion bowing toward Naruto.

Naruto hearing this tone of voice was confused. _"I could have sworn the woman I heard was named Suzume but she sounded like she …..had emotion."_ But he brushed it off. Not wanting to look like an idiot, Naruto bowed back. "Hello. I was wondering if I could speak to Shino."

"Of course Mr. Uzumaki, come on in." She moved to the side to let Naruto in their room. As Naruto stepped in the room he realized how huge it was. _"Wow…. I could fit my apartment in here three times."_ Naruto thought to himself as he looked around the room. He noticed a large Kitchen right next to the door he came through and what looked to be a living area directly in front of him, all doubled in size compared to that of a regular home.

"Shino is down the hall on the right." Suzume told him pointing towards his room.

Naruto looked down the hall

"Okay thanks. Your house is huge Mrs. Aburame."

"Yeah I know. It never ceases to amaze me how…..oh Damn It!" Suzume suddenly shouted surprising Naruto. "I was doing so well to!" She said as she looked down depressed.

Naruto was cut off guard by both the outburst as well as the….emotion that came out of Suzume's voice. "Mrs. Aburame….Are you okay?"

"Well Of course I'm okay! I haven't fallen over and died have I?" She suddenly asked annoyed before looking guilty again. "I thought I could do it this time. Ugh!"

Naruto just stood in silence trying to wrap his head around the fact that Shino's mother was….not like Shino. _"She's Shino's Mom? He doesn't act anything like her."_

"Well why are you standing around me for? Don't you keep my son waiting? And don't be so hyper around him. He's still a little weak from the process. Also let me know if you want something to eat I've got plenty of food left over from…I've just got left over's." She said still angry as she made her way into the kitchen.

Not wanting to make her angrier, Naruto hurried to Shino's room. He knocked before entering.

"Hey Shino its Naruto, can I come in."

"Come on in Naruto." A voice replied behind the door."

As Naruto entered he took a look around Shino's bed room, it wasn't all to different from his own. No posters were on his walls. The room was spacious but not overly so and it had a very simple feel to it. The differences came with the fact that Naruto's room was...not clean. While Shino's was the definition of clean.

He saw Shino sitting in his bed reading a book in simple clothes that made it possible to see his face. The sunglasses however were still on so the eyes remained a mystery.

"Naruto. I'm surprised you are out of the hospital this early." Shino stated nonchalantly never looking up from his book."

"Yeah well, it pays to have a high healing factor I guess. "

"I'm also surprised that you decided to visit me. I've never seen you come by the compound before, so what brings you here?"

"Yeah… I just wanted to drop by and say thanks…for going out and getting me I mean."

At hearing this Shino suddenly closed the book he was reading and tossed it onto the floor. "Worthless."

"Uh….What?"

"Oh. Apologies Naruto, I didn't mean to speak that aloud and you are welcome. However there is no need for thanks. Friends help out each other. I'm sure you would have done the same for me." Shino finished picking up another book.

"Yeah…..I think I would have." Naruto said with a grin on his face.

"Anyway it is not me you should be thanking."

"Hm? What do you mean? Kakashi sensei said you went with Sakura and Hinata to go rescue me."

"Exactly. I went along with Sakura and Hinata. You should be thinking those two more specifically Hinata. She is the one who decided to go out and get you. I just figured out you were the one still out there and told them."

"Really? But…..Why would Hinata decide to go out after me?"

Shino looked up from his book directly at Naruto for a second before answering "That's something you'll have to ask her yourself Naruto. It's not my place to say."

"Do you know something I don't?" Naruto asked annoyed.

"I know many things you don't know, Naruto. This is just one of the many." Shino replied.

"Alright then. I was going to stop by her house anyway. I'll….."

"I'm not so sure it would be a good idea to see her tonight Naruto." Shino interrupted.

'What. Why not?" Naruto asked.

"She's has other things to deal with right now, and you going there tonight wouldn't help any of it. I would advise seeing her tomorrow."

"If you say so….. What is with all these books anyway?" Naruto finally asked picking one off the floor and looking over it.

"It is of little importance." Shino told him. " Naruto do you remember what the thing in the woods?"

"The plant guy?"

"Yes. Whatever it was made my insects shutter….That has never happened Naruto and I don't like it." Shino told him with a slight edge in his voice. "I intend to find out what that thing is and I was wondering if you had any information on it."

"I'm not sure if this will help but when I fought it, it said it was called Zetsu."

"Zetsu?" Shino asked to be certain.

"Yeah I think so." Naruto replied. "Hope that helps."

"It just may Naruto." Shino replied flipping a page in his book.

"Hey if you don't mind me asking, you mother said you went through some sort of process?"

"The Kikiachu Replenishment Process."

"Oh okay…"

"You have no idea what the Kikiachu Replenishment Process is, do you?"

"Nope, not a clue." Naruto said sheepishly.

Shino just sighed before explaining. "Basically it is a process of when an Aburame needs to replenish on Kikaichu insects due to a massive loss of them from the host's body."

"Oh. Sort of like getting a refill of Ramen after you eat it all." Naruto replied.

"Not exactly…" Shino replied. "But it is the same principle." Shino finished after thinking about it.

"Okay. But how did you lose all your insects?" Naruto asked curiosity getting the best of him.

"Before I went out to look for you, I had just returned to the Leaf Village from a mission where bandits were using poison gas to terrorize a small town. I've built of an immunity to that type of poison but my insects have not. So I was able to defeat the bandits at the cost of most of my hive. I lost even more when I helped rescue you." Shino stated with what sounded like sadness in his voice.

"Oh…I get it. Sorry about…your loss." Naruto spat out nervously. The sight of a sad sounding Aburame was unsettling.

"Thank you for your condolences Naruto." Shino replied. "A hive is not something one can just replace. One grows attached to creatures you've known for a long time regardless of what animal be it human or insect and when you lose them… It hurts."

"Yeah…..I can understand that." Naruto said with his voice taking on a sad tone.

Shino looked over toward Naruto about to ask how he could understand but when he saw Naruto's face the pure image of sadness it had he decided against it.

Naruto was silent for a moment having run out of things to say before getting ready to leave. "Well you look like you're busy so I'll….."

"What has you so worried Naruto?" Shino asked interrupting him.

"Nothing I'm not worried about anything I just…"

"Naruto from the minute you've walked into my room you've been worried about something. I don't need my insects to tell me that. If you don't wish to inform me, I have no objections. However I would like to ask that you don't deny it." Shino replied looking up at him.

Naruto sighed before replying. "Am I that easy to read?"

"To the trained eye, yes." Shino replied.

Naruto kept facing the door and replied "I…I just have a lot on my mind right now. That's all."

Shino was silent before nodding his head. "Very well Naruto. You have my thanks for stopping by. You are welcome to return anytime."

"Thanks Shino. Oh before I go two things have been bugging me."

At this Shino looked up from his latest book to listen.

"Where are all the other Aburame? When I came into your compound it felt pretty deserted."

In response Shino grew what looked like a microscopic smile on his face. "Contrary to popular belief, my clan is made up of regular people who have lives of their own to live. Many of which enjoy the night life in the Village and don't like being cooped up in the compound."

"Oh... What did Grandma Tsunade say she was going to do to you guys for leaving the Village?" Naruto asked as he opened the door.

At this Shino became annoyed. "The lord Hokage has seen fit to give Sakura and Hinata D rank missions and a private training match, while I….have been tasked with studying native plant life in the Village."

Both Naruto and Shino heard a loud laugh coming from the Kitchen area after Shino finished.

"Your mom's idea?" Naruto asked.

Shino replied by burying his head into his current book.

"Good luck Shino." Naruto replied chuckling before leaving.

After Naruto was out of the compound, Suzume came into Shino's room. "He isn't as hyper as I was led to believe." She said looking at Shino

"Naruto is not his usual self." Shino replied to his mother. "He has many things on his mind."

"Well did you ask what they were?"

"No." Shino stated simply.

"Well why not?! He looked like something terrible had happened to him." Suzume asked annoyed.

"What Naruto wants to keep private is his choice. As a friend I won't push him on the subject. Even if I'm curious as to what it is." Shino replied placing his book on the floor.

"You are so much like your father you know that?" Suzume replied still annoyed.

"Speaking of which, why are you still trying to speak in a monotone voice mother? You know father doesn't mind?" Shino asked his mother.

Suzume turned a shade of red similar to a young Hyuga girl. "That's not of your business!" She yelled before slamming the door to Shino's room.

Shino silently chuckled to himself before picking up another book. This one titled Clan Archives.

* * *

"We need to execute the Demon Now! He has just cost us one of the most valuable resources the Village had and deserves to die for it!" Kenta cried.

"I agree. This makes him a threat to Village Security." The Anbu Commander stated emotionlessly.

"Who exactly are you talking about?! That BOY risked his life to go after a TRAITOR. Why should we execute him for not being able to bring back a traitorous piece of trash?! As far as I'm concerned he his squad deserves to be rewarded not punished! " Tsume Inuzuka yelled in response.

"Rewarded?! He cost us one of the most powerful eye bloodlines in the world! How is that deserving of a reward?! This only proves that the Demon needs to be executed immediately!" Kenta continued.

" I stand with the Inuzuka on this matter, my son was injured and Chouza's son is in surgery over this retrieval mission. I'm not about to sit idly by and watch a member of that squad be executed because of some irrational hatred and fear." Shikaku replied with a small amount of anger in his voice.

"Do you not understand that Sasuke betrayed us? Because it seems to me that this is less about the Uchiha being dead and more about you wanting Naruto dead." Inoichi stated staring holes into Kenta.

"Pfff. Do you not understand the since even since he has done nothing but cause trouble since the day he was born. This only proves that he is unstable!"Another councilmen cried.

"Kenta is right. The Uzumaki has been nothing but trouble. Now he has crossed the line!" The third councilman said siding with Kenta.

"He's a Demon!" Kenta and the other Civilian councilman cried

"He's a Ninja!" The Clan Heads yelled back

**BANG**

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade cried as she used her fist to bring order into the room. "This is a meeting between the leaders of the clans of the Leaf Village. Not a Shouting match between Academy Students!"

No one replied to this comment and let Tsunade continue. She turned towards the Councilmen representing the Civilians.

"Okay. I want to get one thing straight with you people. Hiruzen may have put up with you bull shit, but I'm wont. Naruto Uzumaki in the past few months has done more for this Village than I have in the past ten years, and you have the gall to ask for his execution because he failed to bring back a ninja who betrayed us? If I hear so much as a whisper of executing Naruto again then I will personally escort you to your tombstone. Is that clear?" Tsunade asked in a rather threatening way.

The other Councilmen besides Kenta nodded their heads vigorously while sweating before replying "Y-Yes Lord Hokage."

"Kenta… Am I clear?" Tsunade asked while cracking her knuckles and sending him a death glare.

"…..Transparently. Lord Hokage." Kenta replied with venom evident in his voice.

"Excellent. Oh and for future reference that statement applies to anybody ninja or civilian. Understood?

All the councilmen nodded their heads giving confirmation.

Tsunade accepted this before turning to the Anbu Commander. "You I can understand a bit more since it's your job to be paranoid. But I want you to understand something. Naruto Uzumaki is one of the sole reasons I came back to the Village and took up the title of Hokage. He has my full trust and I don't want you worrying about him anymore Commander. Understood?" Tsunade asked in a more civilized tone."

"Yes sir." The Anbu Commander replied before vanishing.

"Now that those two are taken care of we can get down to business. I know that most of you have spoken up about this situation but I would like to hear input from the Hyuga, the Aburame."

Shibi surprisingly spoke first. "Naruto has proven himself to be a competent ninja albeit an unorthodox one. I see no reason why an execution would be necessary."

"You could have told me you us where the meeting was being held Tsunade, we are a part of it." An annoyed voice interrupted.

Tsunade sighed before turning to see her advisors and Danzo walk in and take their seats. _"So much for getting through this quickly."_ "My apologies Homura I just thought you and Koharu didn't want to be bothered with something so minor. And quite frankly Danzo doesn't have any business here."

"Ah Tsunade, you've always had it in for me haven't you? I never understood why."

Tsunade just gave him a hating look.

"Anyway I'm here because the Kyubi Ji….

"Naruto."

"…Naruto needs to be controlled and I am willing to make him my apprentice and train him to protect the Village."

There was silence in the room before Tsunade exploded in rage. ""Have you finally lost your mind in your Old Age?! There is no way IN HELL I'm going to let that happen.

"It maybe necessary considering what you've told the us." Hiashi stated coming out of his silence.

"Exactly how is giving him to Danzo necessary Hiashi? And your answer better be a damn good one." Tsunade told him visibly angry.

"Lord Tsunade, you said yourself that Naruto killed Sasuke. Now let's take out the fact that he was the last Uchiha. From the reports I've read it seemed that Uzumaki thought of the Uchiha as his best friend. Why then would he kill him?"

When Tsunade didn't give an answer Hiashi continued. "Simple he killed him because he lost control of the Kyubi's power."

"We don't know that Hiashi." Tsunade disagreed.

"Then explain how the Uchiha's body was having been scorched beyond recognition. Uzumaki doesn't have any history of fire type moves in his arsenal. Unless his teacher has noticed something and hasn't told us." Hiashi said turning toward Kakashi who had been standing in the room in complete silence.

"No, Naruto has no history of fire techniques." Kakashi replied.

"Thank you Kakashi. Now….."

"However Naruto has never once shown a lack of control of the Kyubi and doesn't need to be transported to Danzo's control." Kakashi added. "If the council is so eager to have him learn how to control the Kyubi's influence then I will take care of it."

Not willing to let his goal of getting Naruto slip away Danzo fired back. "Oh is that right? Tell me Kakashi. You were in charge of Team 7 for how long six months, a year at most?

"A year yes." Kakashi confirmed not seeing where the question was going.

"A full year. And in that time as a teacher, What exactly did you teach the Uzumaki and Haruno?"

"What does that have to do with…."

"It has everything to do with this Kakashi. In the time you have been the teacher of Team 7 you've taught them one thing together. How to run up trees."

Kakashi's eyes widened at realizing where this was going.

"Mean while individually, you completely ignored Haruno and Uzumaki and taught the Uchiha an A rank assassination technique which he could have used to kill the Uzumaki. I fail to see how someone who taught his student only one thing is able to teach him to control the Kyubi." Danzo finished with a rather evil looking smile.

The council members were surprised by these statements and they all turned to Kakashi hoping for a reasonable explanation.

"Kakashi….. Please tell me that you had a logical explanation for ignoring your other two students." Tsunade asked hoping to hear one.

Kakashi put his head down and was silent before he replied. "I… don't have one."

"As I thought." Danzo replied. "I would like Hiashi to continue."

Hiashi nodded his head before continuing. "As I was saying, if the Uzumaki is able to kill his best friend, then who is to say that he won't be able to kill others. Him going around through the Village alone puts everyone at risk without someone who can teach him to control the Kyubi and since Hatake, has proven to be an ineffective teacher, Danzo seems to be the only one who can fill that position, unless one of you can name a more suitable candidate."

"Why do we even need a candidate? Perhaps we could take a third course." Another civilian councilman added. "What about banishment? That way we could remove him from the Village without bloodshed."

As soon as he finished a colossal amount of killer intent came upon him courtesy of both Tsunade and Danzo.

"That has to be the single DUMBEST idea I've ever heard!" Danzo and Tsunade said at the same time.

At hearing that they said the exact same thing, Tsunade and Danzo immediately turned to face each other.

"Well it's nice to see you aren't a total idiot Tsunade." Danzo said with a smile.

"Shut up." Tsunade replied. _"How could I have the same response as him? I'm starting to hate this job."_

"What Lady Tsunade and Danzo mean is that, Naruto Uzumaki is the ninja of the Kyubi, the most powerful of the tailed beast. Councilman, if we banished Naruto from the Village not only would we be getting rid of a powerful resource, but other villages would seize the opportunity to capture him and turn him against us. Which makes your suggestion quite idiotic." Homura stated simply.

The councilman who suggested the banishment just sank down into his chair.

"Not to mention that the Akatsuki would have a field day, and be one step closer to getting all the Jinchuriki." A voice agreed.

"Jiraiya. I was wondering if you were going to show up. You never seem to." Koharu stated as Jiriaya walked in.

"Well I've never had much incentive to come. You're usually here." Jiriaya said with smile

As Koharu silently fumed, Jiriaya continued. "I heard that you guys were discussing ways to control the Kyubi and you don't need to worry… I will take care of it." He finished turning toward Danzo.

"Are you saying you will take Naruto as your apprentice?" Homura asked for confirmation.

"Yes. I will take him as my apprentice." Jiraiya confirmed smiling. His eyes never leaving Danzo.

"I think this is a reasonable agreement." Shibi stated. "Lord Jiriaya trained the Fourth Hokage, one of the most powerful ninja the Leaf has ever seen. I think he is more than capable of training Naruto."

"As do I" Shikaku agreed.

"I can think of no one better." Inoichi nodded.

"Sounds good." Chouza agreed

"Makes sense." Tsume agreed. "What do you think Hiashi?"

Hiashi stared a Jiriaya for a moment before replying "While Jiriaya has a horrible background when it comes to training teams….."

At the mentioning of this Jiriaya turned toward Hiashi with an angry glare.

"He has proven to be a great teacher of apprentices. He is a prime candidate to train the Uzumaki."

"Excellent. Are there any who object to Jiriaya being the teacher of Naruto?" Tsunade asked to all the councilmen.

The Clan Heads looked satisfied, Danzo looked like he wanted to object but kept quiet, and Kenta and the Civilian councilmen just kept quiet.

"Good. Then I think we are about done here. Just one final piece of information, I am going to address the entire Village about what happened to Sasuke in a few days so until that time, consider his death an S class secret. Clear?"

Everyone nodded in response.

"Good. I think we're done here." Tsunade said getting up from her chair. She was swiftly followed by the others.

Lord Hokage, I need to head out and…..inform my team." Kakashi said kneeling.

"Yes of course, Kakashi…" Tsunade replied saddened, "You do realize though that after what I just heard…. We will need to talk."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." Kakashi stated before disappearing.

After all the Council went home, and Danzo just went…wherever he goes, Tsunade and Jiraiya met privately in her office.

"You were listening the whole time weren't you?"

"No…Not really….Kind of…."

"You annoying….. How about you just show up to these things on time? It would be nice to have someone else I know backing me up."

"Tsunade I….."

"Just forget it. Why did you suddenly burst in when you did?"

Jiriaya sighed before replying "I heard where things were going and I didn't want Danzo to get his hands on Naruto."

"Oh so you think he will be safe with you?" Tsunade stated with an eyebrow raised.

"I think he will be safer. Actually I think it's a guarantee he will be safer with me training him." Jiraiya responded.

"I can't argue with you there…..Damn it." Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her head. "How is Naruto doing?"

"He's….not doing well. When I saw him in the hospital he looked downright miserable. Like what he did was eating away at his being. He tries to hide it but…..he's suffering." Jiraiya stated saddened.

Tsunade was silent before pulling out a bottle of Sake. "I hope Kakashi and Sakura can understand why he did it."

"Do you know why he did it?" Jiraiya asked holding his hand out for a drink.

"I can't say I know for sure….Probably for the same reason you try to find and kill Orochimaru….."

Jiraiya just looked at her with a weird look.

"….Because he was your best friend."

* * *

Naruto arrived at team 7's training field a little bit after night had fallen over the Village, It was a nice night. Very little clouds in the sky, a light breeze that rustled the surrounding tree leaves, nocturnal animals coming out to live their lives, the kind of night one usually is happy to be alive. Naruto at this point was not.

"**What do you have to feel sad about child? The Uchiha tried to kill you and nearly succeeded and now that he's dead…"**

"_Shut up!"_

"…**.Are you trying to deny it?! HA! You are truly pathetic!"**

"_Shut up! I know Sasuke is…."_

"**Dead child. Your best friend is dead….You killed him."** The Kyubi chuckled evilly.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted aloud alerting the other occupant there.

Sakura had arrived a few minutes before Naruto did.

"It had to be here. Of all places, this is where he said to meet." Sakura thought to herself as she looked toward the three logs in the field. Memories came flooding back to her of the survival Exercise, the Wave mission, the Chunin Exams, Everything.

"_Is this it?"_

"**NO! Sasuke is still out there. We can bring him back! Cha!"**

"_But since Naruto didn't bring him back…Thant means he's with Orochimaru."_

"**Screw Orochimaru! We're getting Sasuke back even if it kills us."**

"You're right. With Kakashi sensei and Naruto we can definitely…"

SHUT UP!

Sakura came back to reality hearing a cry echo across the field. Turning toward the direction of it she noticed Naruto a few feet away with angry look on his face.

"Naruto?"

Hearing the voice of his teammate, Naruto immediately came back to reality. "Oh…..hey Sakura." _"Why did she have to be here first?" !_Naruto said in nervously.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked worried.

"Yeah….. Doing fine." Naruto said as he walked towards Sakura.

"Hey. I'm sorry for not visiting you, I was stuck teaching academy students all day."

"No big deal, I don't usually stay in those things very long anyway." Naruto said as he leaned against one of the logs with his head facing the ground still looking nervous.

Both sat in silence for a while before Sakura decided to speak.

"Hey….Naruto…..about Sasuke…I don't blame you."

Naruto never looked up to her.

"It…It was my fault he ran away to begin with…and I begged you to go after him…..Because of me I nearly got you killed and the others…I just want you to know it wasn't your fault he got away."

Naruto just kept his head down and he was starting to shake.

"We'll be able to get him back though. I'll get Tsunade to train me and you can get Jiraiya to train you…"

"Sakura…"

"And with Kakashi sensei, we'll be able to find Sasuke…."

"Sakura please….."

"And bring him back home to the Village….."

"SAKURA PLEASE STOP!" Naruto shouted looking up to face her.

When he looked up to her, Sakura got a glimpse of what Naruto was feeling. Tears were streaming down his face and Naruto looked like he was about to break down in sobs. Naruto was giving off an aura of pure sadness and agony, the likes of which Sakura had never felt before and to see her teammate having this reaction hurt Sakura immensely.

"Just….please….Stop." Naruto restated looking back toward the ground.

Sakura was left speechless by the outburst and just sat in silence before Kakashi arrived.

When Kakashi arrived he knew things were going to be tough. However when he saw his students faces it nearly broke him. One full of pain of killing his best friend, and the other full of fear and worry for her crush and teammate. These faces just further proved that he failed. Kakashi knew however that they couldn't just stand in silence. They all needed to have this meeting.

"I would say I'm sorry for being late but…..Sorry for being late." Kakashi said making himself known.

Hearing her sensei, Sakura looked toward him.

"Hey Kakashi sensei." Sakura replied with a small smile.

"I….Sakura… do you know why we are here?" Kakashi asked her nervously.

Sakura's smile vanished almost immediately. "We're here to talk about Sasuke right?"

"Yeah….About Sasuke." Kakashi replied also looking down.

Seeing her teacher and her teammate looking so depressed hurt Sakura so she tried to be optimistic.

"We'll get him back though right? I mean, We can train and get stronger and bring him back….Can't we?" Sakura asked her head switching from Kakashi and Naruto.

Kakashi continued his silence and Naruto broke his. " Sakura I….I don't think we'll… ever get Sasuke back."

Sakura immediately turned to Naruto. "What? Why not? He's our teammate of course we'll get him back."

"No… We won't. He's…He's…." Naruto tried to finish but couldn't.

"Sasuke is gone, Sakura." Kakashi finished for Naruto.

Sakura turned to Kakashi with a look of despair. "Gone? What do you… You can't mean….. But he…." Sakura couldn't finish as the thought terrified her.

Kakashi took a deep breath before finally telling her. "Sakura…..Sasuke is dead."

Sakura was stoic for a few moments, facing the ground not looking at her teacher or her teammate as her mind tried to digest what she just heard. All the memories she had with her team, all the hopes and plans she had to get Sasuke back, all the optimism, gone. Shattered by this revelation. Unbeknownst to her tears began to form in her eyes as if the body had accepted it while the mind had not. As the tears began to slide down her face Kakashi walked over to comfort her.

"You…you're lying. Sasuke….he's not dead. He's not dead." Sakura whimpered aloud as Kakashi approached.

"Sakura…."

"No you're lying. Sasuke isn't dead. He can't be dead." Sakura's voice grew louder and she stood up.

"Sakura just listen….."

"NO! SASUKE IS NOT DEAD! HE'S NOT DEAD!" Sakura shouted to Kakashi as she began to sob.

Kakashi stopped a few feet away and stood still as Sakura broke down sobbing.

After a few moments Kakashi put her hand on Sakura's shoulder and then turned to Naruto. "Naruto….What happened over there?" Kakashi asked his other student while tears of his own became visible in his one eye.

Naruto faced his team and wiped away tears of his own as he began to recall what happened.

"We… I caught up with Sasuke at the Valley of the End. He….didn't want to come back so I…tried to beat some sense into him." Naruto stated difficulty.

Sakura was still sobbing but Kakashi was listening.

"We then fought….all across the Valley… Neither of us were able to beat each other…..It seemed like every time I would get the upper hand he would fire back with something stronger….He uh…..Eventually broke my neck." Naruto stated depressingly.

Kakashi's eye widened at that statement and Sakura at this point had temporarily regained control of herself and was listening

"I was…..able to comeback though and I thought I had him…..but even then he…..came back stronger than ever….." Naruto stated tears returning and smiling as if remembering Sasuke's tenacity made him miss his friend even more. "It came down to two last attacks. His Chidori and my Rasengan."

**FLASHBACK**

Naruto and Sasuke each stared each other down across the waterfall at the feet of Hashirama and Madara with their amplified signature jutsus in hand.

"**Kid…..You need to use all of your Rasengan's power if you want to beat him."**

"No. If I do that it could kill him."

"**If you don't he WILL kill you! That lightning is more than twice as strong as it was before!"**

"I don't care!"

At nearly the same time Sasuke and Naruto leaped across the Valley towards each other.

"Rasengan!" Naruto cried

"Chidori!" Sasuke Cried

As the techniques clashed the very air itself began to crack under the weight of the chakra being used. They were then swallowed up into a sphere of light that expanded across the falls. Inside the sphere the techniques battled for supremacy and Sasuke's was beating Naruto's.

"He's….beating me?!"

" **OF COURSE HE IS! He has always beaten you! Because you refuse to match his power!"**

"I…can't. He's my best friend."

"**A best friend who you've never beaten! A friend who tried to kill you and nearly did!"**

"It could kill him….. I can't!"

"**YES YOU CAN! For once in your life you can beat him. Here and Now. Just use your full power!"**

All the memories of Sasuke beating Naruto came flooding into Naruto's memory at once. Sasuke standing over him in the academy, Sasuke beating him during sparing, Sasuke saving Naruto's life, Sasuke being loved by everyone, Sasuke being everything that Naruto ever wanted to be. Realization hit him immediately and Naruto finally saw that this was his chance to beat Sasuke and become loved by everyone.

"I…..I CAN BEAT HIM!" Naruto shouted as he put all of his strength and Chakra into his fading Rasengan.

The fading attack was immediately recharged and made stronger than ever and it slowly overtook Sasuke's Chidori until it was completely obliterated. Once it was gone the Rasengan powered on through to Sasuke's body. Burning his skin as it made contact. If Sasuke had screamed in pain or remained silent Naruto did not know. All he knew was this time he was beating Sasuke. This time he would win.

"Give me more Chakra! Now!" Naruto demanded inside his mind

"**Gladly!"** The Kyubi responded gleefully.

The Rasengan's power was amplified yet again and as it kept in contact with Sasuke what skinned wasn't being burned was then scorched. All across the body, heat and fire engulfed the skin reducing the Wings and Sasuke's clothes to ashes.

"**FINISH IT!"** The Kyubi cried.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHH" Naruto cried aloud as the Rasengan blasted Sasuke out of the Sphere and into the opposite side of the Valley creating a massive crater in the Valley wall.

The sphere almost immediately disappeared as Naruto fell to the ground completely out of energy.

"**Good work kid. Hehehehe"** The Kyubi chuckled.

Naruto however paid no mind to him as he picked himself up with great difficulty and walked toward Sasuke. All the praise he would get from the Village from Sakura. He would finally be welcomed by the Village and not ostracized.

As he closed in on the body he failed to notice it started raining.

"Okay Sasuke. I think it's time to go home." Naruto told him with a smile. When there was no answer, Naruto thought he just knocked him out.

"Maybe I hit him a bit too hard." He chuckled to himself aloud. As he got closer and closer however he became increasingly worried. He was able to see Third degree burns across Sasuke's body and began to smell the scorched flesh that was swiftly diminished by the rain.

"Sasuke….Come on….Sasuke get up." Naruto ordered Sasuke's body. The body remained motionless.

"Sasuke get up! Sasuke…..." Naruto couldn't finish his sentence as he finally saw the entire body of Sasuke, completely scorched. No hair, no clothes, nothing that made him recognizable. Only the eyes remained unharmed.

Realization slowly dawned on Naruto on what he had done.

"Sasuke….Sasuke wake up!...Sasuke get up!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed the body and started shaking it as if trying to waken it from a deep sleep. Not realizing that the body was still very hot.

As his hands burned he continued trying to wake his friend.

"Sasuke! Please get up! SASUKE PLEASE!" Naruto cried as he continued to shake the body.

"SASUKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Naruto cried for a final time as tears began to roll down his face.

Naruto then let out an earth shattering scream of pure agony and rage that echoed across the Valley and the surrounding forest. Alerting Kakashi to his whereabouts.

**FLASHBACK END**

By this time Naruto was very close to breaking down as well in front of his team but he kept on going even though he didn't want to.

"I…Left the Valley after that….and wandered around the forest….I eventually decided that I would come back here and face the consequences for what I…..did." He was silent before finishing

"I killed Sasuke." Naruto finished as he finally broke down sobbing not caring who saw him.

Kakashi had been staying still in silence as Naruto told his story not daring to interrupt him. As he listened he finally realized just how alone he really was and the absolute agony he was in. The picture reminded him so much of himself after Rin died.

"_Damn it. I'm sorry Minato sensei….I failed." _He thought to himself ashamed. He turned to face Sakura worried about what she would do

Sakura while still having tears in her eyes and sniffling had listened to Naruto's recollection completely. After he had finished she grew an unreadable look on her face and sat quietly for a moment. She then picked herself up and walked toward Naruto.

Kakashi wanted to intervene but something told him not to. He felt he needed to let happen whatever would happen.

As Sakura made her way closer to Naruto, she tightened her fist and began to channel chakra into it all the while her face was unreadable. All the memories, all the good times she had with Team 7, Sasuke, were gone and it was all because of…..Naruto.

As Naruto kept sobbing he didn't notice Sakura approaching and did nothing to stop what was coming.

When Sakura was directly in front of Naruto she raised her fist in preparation for a strike. As her fist was about to come down on Naruto however, she suddenly remembered what had been said to her yesterday.

**MINI FLASHBACK**

"I hope you don't blame Naruto….He will hate himself enough." Shino stated

"Why on Earth would I blame Naruto? I'm the one who begged him to go after Sasuke…. I have no intention of blaming anyone."

**END MINI FLASHBACK**

Remembering those words, Sakura was immediately reminded of who Sasuke was to Naruto, his best friend. She looked down toward Naruto again and all the anger she had previously had for him was replaced with sorrow and grief. She then slowly lowered her fist and collapsed onto the ground right next to Naruto.

Sakura then joined Naruto in lamenting the loss of their teammate.

Kakashi just walked over to his students to try and comfort them the best he could.

* * *

**WOW! That's a long one. I really enjoyed this one. Well…Maybe a bit of a depressing ending, but I figured it was necessary. To those who spot that I didn't do Sasuke's perspective of dying, I'll use it later...maybe...I think. Could you maybe possibly leave a review? Every bit of feedback helps. See you guys later.**


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